Tahoe City woman, 43, killed after tree crushes Subaru (updated)

CHP-Truckee has released the name of the woman killed in Thursday’s accident — Emmanuelle Delavoye, 43, of Tahoe City.

UPDATE 10 a.m. FRIDAY:

The CHP-Truckee office issued a press release 9 a.m. Friday with updated information about the incident.

According to CHP, the 43-year-old woman was pronounced dead on the scene due to blunt force trauma. A full autopsy is pending.

Her name has still not been released, pending next-of-kin notification.

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Further, the CHP press release reported the incident occurred at about 5:55 p.m. Thursday. Previous Sun reports that incorrectly reported the incident occurred at 6:30 p.m. have since been corrected.

The original story strings are below.

UPDATE: 10:20 p.m.:

Pete Mann, CHP-Truckee spokesman, told the Sierra Sun he had some incorrect information earlier regarding the Cadillac Escalade that was also struck by a tree.

That vehicle was driven by a sole male occupant, who escaped uninjured. Original CHP reports indicated a family was inside the Cadillac.

Meanwhile, crews have cleared the scene, and Highway 89 was reopened to through traffic at about 10 p.m. Thursday.

No other details of the incident were available Thursday night. The name of the deceased Tahoe City woman is being held, pending next-of-kin notification.

The original story updates are below.

UPDATE: 7:55 p.m.

Pete Mann, CHP-Truckee spokesman, confirmed with the Sierra Sun at about 7:50 p.m. Thursday that one person — a 43-year-old Tahoe City woman — was killed in the incident.

No one else was in the car, he said. The woman's name is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification.

At the time of the incident, Mann said it wasn't windy, and snow was light and variable.

"It was kind of just one of those things," he said when asked to comment on weather conditions surrounding the incident. "This is all speculation, but the soil (across the region) is really moist, and there's a heavy snow load sitting on trees."

The incident remains under investigation. Check back with SierraSun.com for more information as it becomes available.

Below is the original story, published at 7:30 p.m.

OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. — At least one person was killed Thursday evening when a tree fell onto a car that was moving through slow and snow-affected traffic near Lake Tahoe.

At about 5:55 p.m. Thursday, the tree fell on a Subaru that was traveling on Highway 89 southbound, just north of the Squaw Valley intersection, Pete Mann, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol Truckee branch, told the Sierra Sun Thursday evening.

The driver of the vehicle was killed in the incident, Mann confirmed. As of 7:20 p.m. Thursday, Mann said it was not yet clear if anyone else was in the Subaru. Extrication is ongoing, he said.

The tree also fell onto a nearby Cadillac Escalade, Mann said — the family inside that vehicle was unharmed.

A second tree fell onto a Tesla vehicle near the scene, Mann said, shortly after the first tree fell.

The male driver of the Tesla had exited the vehicle to inspect the scene of the Subaru. The man's family members inside the Tesla were unharmed, Mann said.

The incident remains under investigation; no further details were known due to the complexity of the scene, Mann said.

Highway 89 will be closed indefinitely between Truckee and Squaw during cleanup, Mann said. There is no estimated time of reopening.

The incident occurred in roughly the same location as where a tree fell at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. No one was hurt in that incident, although the highway was closed for more than 2 hours.